The final UFC PPV of the ESPN era has arrived! The first UFC PPV that aired on ESPN was UFC 236 in April 2019. The reigning UFC Bantamweight Champion Merab Dvalishvili is defending his title against Petr Yan in the Main Event. The second of two title fights sees Alexandre Pantoja putting his 125-pound title on the line against No. 1 Joshua Van in the co-main event.
1:14 a.m. ET: Petr Yan defeats Merab Dvalishvili via unanimous decision (49-46, 49-46, 48-47)
Petr Yan beat Merab Dvalishvili by unanimous decision and is now a two-time UFC Bantamweight Champion. Yan has won four consecutive fights and is his first title win since becoming Interim Champion in October 2021.
Dvalishvili’s 14-fight winning streak has come to an end. This is Dvalishvili’s first loss since April 2018. Dvalishvili’s title reign ends with four title victories. Yan successfully defended 27 of Dvalishvili’s 29 takedown attempts. Dvalishvili landed 15 more significant strikes than Yan while finishing with 5:12 of control time. But Yan ended up doing more damage.
Before this fight, Yan was a +295 underdog to beat Dvalishvili on DraftKings Sportsbook. Yan was also +550 to win this contest by decision.
1:06 a.m. ET: Dvalishvili vs. Yan – Round 5
Even though Dvalishvili is hurt, he is still pushing forward and landing. But Yan pressured Dvalishvili, still landing effective strikes. Yan took Dvalishvili down again and continued to get the best of the champion. In this fight, Yan did enough to beat Dvalishvili and become Bantamweight champion once again.
10-9, 48-47 Yan
1:00 a.m. ET: Dvalishvili vs. Yan – Round 4
Yan took Dvalishvili down at the start of the fourth round. After a few more failed takedown attempts for Dvalishvili, Yan counters with multiple body shots.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Yan is a -810 favorite with Dvalishvili being a +500 underdog.
10-9 Yan, 38-38
12:54 a.m. ET: Dvalishvili vs. Yan – Round 3
Dvalishvili landed a big right hand, but then Yan scored a takedown. Then Dvalishvili picked Yan up and slammed him down. This was Dvalishvili’s best round of the fight so far. Yan landed a big kick to the body, hurting the champion.
10-9, 29-28 Dvalishvili
12:48 a.m. ET: Dvalishvili vs. Yan – Round 2
Dvalishvili started the second round trying to get the fight to the ground once again. Yan and Dvalishvili were trading punches with both landing. Over two minutes into the round, Yan scored the first takedown of the fight, but Dvalishvili reversed it. Dvalishvili landed five more significant strikes than Yan.
19-19
12:42 a.m. ET: Dvalishvili vs. Yan – Round 1
Dvalishvili landed a combination in the first minute of the round and was aggressive. Yan landed a big right hand, stumbling the champion. But then Dvalishvili tried to take him down. Yan displayed elite takedown defense in this round. Dvalishvili finished the round 0-8 on takedown attempts.
10-9 Yan
12:17 a.m. ET: Joshua Van defeats Alexandre Pantoja via KO/TKO
Joshua Van defeats Alexandre Pantoja by KO/TKO after Pantoja dislocated his elbow. Van is the second youngest champion in UFC history, behind Jon Jones. Pantoja suffered the injury only 27 seconds into the fight.
Van is now 16-2 in his MMA career and moves to 9-1 in the UFC. This is Van’s sixth consecutive victory. This is Pantoja’s first loss since July 2020.
11:51 p.m. ET: Tatsuro Taira defeats Brandon Moreno via KO/TKO
Taira pressured Moreno at the beginning of the second round, with both still feeling each other out. Moreno landed a few punches, but Taira then scored his first takedown of the contest. Taira started to unload ground and pound punches and picked up the finish against Moreno. Taira moves to 18-1 overall while being 8-1 in the UFC. At 25 years old, Taira appears to be a future title challenger at 125 pounds. This is Moreno’s first loss since February 2024, ending his two-fight winning streak.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Taria was +3500 to win by KO/TKO/DQ in the second round before the fight. Taira was also +1400 to win this fight by KO/TKO/DQ.
Alexandre Pantoja is defending his UFC Flyweight Championship against No. 1 Joshua Van in the next fight.
11:41 p.m. ET: Moreno vs. Taira – Round 1
Moreno had Taira in a triangle, but couldn’t finish the submission attempt. Taria got out of the position with a few seconds remaining in the first round.
10-9 Moreno
11:32 p.m. ET: Henry Cejudo’s final post-fight interview in the UFC Octagon
11:19 p.m. ET: Payton Talbott defeats Henry Cejudo via unanimous decision (30-27, 30-27, 30-27)
Payton Talbott picks up the most significant victory of his career against former two-division UFC Champion Henry Cejudo. Talbott moves to 11-1 in his MMA career while being 5-1 in the UFC. This was the final fight of Cejudo’s legendary career.
Talbott finished with 118 significant strikes, three takedowns, and 3:35 of control time. The next fight is a Flyweight Bout between No. 2 Brandon Moreno vs. No. 5 Tatsuro Taira.
11:13 p.m. ET: Cejudo vs. Talbott – Round 3
Cejudo attempted multiple takedowns, but couldn’t get Talbott to the ground. This was another good round for Talbott as he was landing a ton of significant strikes on Cejudo. At the end, both fighters were exchanging punches.
30-27 Talbott
11:07 p.m. ET: Cejudo vs. Talbott – Round 2
Talbott knocked Cejudo down at the start of the second round, but then Cejudo landed his first takedown. Talbott got back to his feet with a little over two minutes left in the round.
This was an excellent round with both fighters landing powerful combinations. This was a much better round for Cejudo, but Talbott still did enough to win the round.
10-9, 20-18 Talbott
11:01 p.m. ET: Cejudo vs. Talbott – Round 1
This was a competitive first round with both fighters landing. Talbott had the size and speed advantage, forcing Cejudo to use a ton of energy to close the distance. Talbott scored the first takedown of the fight after Cejudo failed on his first two takedown attempts. Talbott landed seven more significant strikes than Cejudo while finishing with two takedowns and 1:38 of control time.
10-9 Talbott
10:46 p.m. ET: Jan Blachowicz vs. Bogdan Guskov ends via draw (29-28 Blachowicz, 28-28, 28-28)
The first fight of the UFC 323 Main Card ended via a draw as two of the judges scored the second round 10-8 in favor of Guskov. In this fight, Guskov landed 12 more significant strikes than Blachowicz did. Guskov also finished with 4:09 of control time.
This is Blachowicz’s second draw in his last four fights. Before the fight, this fight was +5000 to end via a draw on DraftKings Sportsbook.
10:39 p.m. ET: Blachowicz vs. Guskov – Round 3
Guskov was aggressive to start the third round as well, landing a few effective strikes. In the second half of the round, Blachowicz began to land and hurt Guskov.
Blachowicz landed over 10 more significant strikes than Guskov did in the third and severely hurt him again in the final seconds.
29-28 Blachowicz
10:33 p.m. ET: Blachowicz vs. Guskov – Round 2
Guskov knocked Blachowicz down in the first minute of the second round. This was all Guskov throughout the entire round as Blachowicz couldn’t get back to his feet after being knocked down. Guskov outlanded Blachowicz 34-6 in significant strikes in this round.
On DraftKings Sportsbook, Guskov is currently a -920 favorite with Blachowicz being a +550 underdog.
10-9 Guskov, 19-19
10:27 p.m. ET: Blachowicz vs. Guskov – Round 1
Both fighters had a slow start, but they were landing a few leg kicks. Blachowicz began to land multiple jabs and punches to wear Guskov down. In the last minute of the round, Blachowicz landed a nice combination.
This was a very close round, but Guskov didn’t do enough. Blachowicz landed two more significant strikes (22 vs. 20) than Guskov in the first.
10-9 Blachowicz
UFC 323 Main Card
UFC Bantamweight Championship: Merab Dvalishvili (c) vs. #3 Petr Yan
UFC Flyweight Championship: Alexandre Pantoja (c) vs. #1 Joshua Van
Flyweight Bout: #2 Brandon Moreno vs. #5 Tatsuro Taira
Bantamweight Bout: #10 Henry Cejudo vs. Payton Talbott
Light Heavyweight Bout: #5 Jan Blachowicz vs. #11 Bogdan Guskov
Results for Prelims
Manuel Torres def. Grant Dawson via first-round KO/TKO
Chris Duncan def. Terrance McKinney via first-round submission
Maycee Barber def. Karine Silva via unanimous decision (30-27, 29-28, 29-28)
Fares Ziam def. Nazim Sadykhov via second-round KO/TKO
Results for the Early Prelims
Brunno Ferreira def. Marvin Vettori via unanimous decision (29-28, 29-28, 29-28)
Jalin Turner def. Edson Barboza via first-round KO/TKO
Iwo Baraniewski def. Ibo Aslan via first-round KO/TKO
Mansur Abdul-Malik def. Antonio Trocoli via first-round submission
Mairon Santos def. Muhammad Naimov via third-round KO/TKO
